


But when you get me alone, it's so simple

by meganseverafter



Series: When we live such fragile lives, it’s the only way we survive [2]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Friends With Benefits, Morning After
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 01:56:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14154165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganseverafter/pseuds/meganseverafter
Summary: They don’t know the impulsive Tessa that has now come to him twice with the intention of sleeping with him out of nowhere. They don’t know the careful Scott that questions her motives every time.





	But when you get me alone, it's so simple

**Author's Note:**

> I have two papers that I should've spent the day writing instead of this, in addition to a group project that I also haven't done much with, all due in the next two weeks. So really, I had even less business writing it than the usual "they're real people! You can't just write about real people's lives!!!" 
> 
> I don't own anything and all the usual disclaimers go here. 
> 
> Sorry, not sorry.

Everyone Scott knows thinks _he’s_ the impulsive one, the one to make rash decisions that need to be curbed. They all think Tessa is the level-headed one in this partnership, the one who thinks things through rather than jumping in head first before asking questions. In a lot of instances, they’d be right. But they don’t know the Tessa that comes barging into Scott’s room at two in the morning on a vengeful warpath because the judges deducted two-tenths off a skill that they both know was perfect. They don’t know the careful Scott that scales back his own anger about the competition because Tessa doesn’t vent often enough but surely doesn’t need the encouragement to get any louder and risk waking the rest of the hotel. They don’t know the impulsive Tessa that has now come to him _twice_ with the intention of sleeping with him out of nowhere. They don’t know the careful Scott that questions her motives every time. 

_“What are you doing, T? It’s midnight. We have to be ready by seven.”_  
_“I can’t stop thinking and we need to place well tomorrow if we want to get on the Olympic team and we need to be centered on each other anyway, so really it’s more of a therapeutic technique than me needing you to wear me out.”_  
_“Wear you out?”_  
_“I need you to fuck me, Scotty.”_

And he so he did, because he’s weak when it comes to Tessa and he can’t deny her anything. It’s not as if they’re not free to do it; she’s still single and he broke up with his girlfriend last month. 

She hadn’t been able to handle dating an athlete trying to make the Olympics, is what he tells people. Truthfully, she might’ve been better at it if she were dating athlete who was less focused on his partner. If he was less likely to drop everything for his partner when she needed anything from another carton of milk to a shoulder to cry on. But that’s who she was dating, and he liked her well enough, but not enough to _change_ himself for her. So, they broke up but not before sleeping together. 

She probably thinks she was his first, with how badly it went. Sleeping with her was _nothing_ like sleeping with Tess; he didn’t know her body like he knew his own. There wasn’t any laughing or even really talking through the whole ordeal. He thinks he managed to get her off, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she faked it. The second time with her was only slightly better, if only because they had done it before. Overall though, it made him wonder if he exaggerated how good his first time with Tessa was, if maybe he was looking back at it through rose-tinted glasses and in all actuality it wasn’t great. After all, it’s not as if they _talked_ about it after. It was a mutually agreed silent rule that neither was ever supposed to bring it up again (until she showed up last night. He still not sure any of this is the best idea).

But now, he’s snoozed the first alarm because she clearly needs the extra few minutes of sleep and she looks so damn peaceful sleeping on his chest that he can’t bring himself to wake her just yet. There’s the second rule broken: no sleeping over. 

He didn’t even have the energy to question breaking that rule last night; he’d been so exhausted by the time they finished (he hadn’t been exaggerating; it really _was_ that good when he was with Tessa) that just taking off the condom and wrapping her up his blankets and arms required nearly too much energy. They were both out like lights in minutes. 

But now they’ve entered the awkward limbo that they tried to avoid the first time. Though, he thinks, they were trying to avoid encouraging a repeat performance the first time. It was supposed to be the first and last time, then. Clearly, they didn’t manage that. He’s not even sure if they’re going to have time to discuss this while they’re still alone. Right now, they have an hour and a half to get ready and get something to eat before they have to be at the rink to start getting ready for the competition. That’s not a whole lot of time to have a possibly life changing discussion given that she barely likes to talk about the weather before noon. 

“Tesssssaaaa…” He finally whispers after snoozing the alarm again, running his fingers through her hair in an attempt to wake her gently. Maybe, if she wakes up in a good mood, they’ll be able to hash this out. That’s his goal anyway.

“Five more minutes.”

“We need to get up, Kiddo…”

“Don’t wanna move.” She mumbles, proving her point by nuzzling into his chest and he was right not to let this happen the first time; they’d’ve never made it this long _without_ getting back in bed together if he had her sleepily waking up on his chest then.

“Then we need to talk about this, T.” He sighs, drawing little patterns on her bare back with his fingers.

“I thought I was supposed to be the rational one.” She mutters, ever on the same page as him even this early in the morning.

“I guess this is the only exception to our standard roles.” He shrugs, kissing her forehead because he did that before ever having sex with her and he _wants_ to.

“So talk.” She instructs him, turning her head on his chest enough that she can look up at him underneath those impossibly long lashes.

“We’re supposed to be focusing on getting to the Olympics, Tess. Not fucking around, literally.” He sighs, well aware that if he truly _believed that_ , he would’ve sent her back to her own bed last night.

“We hadn’t skated better than getting on the ice after the first time. What if I just secured us a place on the team?” She counters, her voice soft enough to dispel the concern that they’re going to start a fight by discussing this.

“So what? We’re casually fucking now? Is that what’s happening?” He asks, because he _needs_ some sort of label. Anything to put this in a definable, boundary enclosed, box. 

“Why not?” 

“There’s a thousand reasons why not, and you know it.”

“If it helps our skating-“

“If it _ruins_ us-“

“We’ll _stop_ before it ruins us, Scotty.” She insists, propping herself up so that she can look him dead in the eyes. “What if _this_ is what gives us the advantage? Everyone talks about our chemistry; why not amplify it?”

“What would our parents say? Your dad made me _swear_ that we’d never go there, and now I’ve broken that promise _twice_.” His will is breaking, he can feel it, and he knows that _she_ knows it too.

“We won’t tell anyone. Anyone that guesses, we’ll deflect.” She answers straight away, like she’d given this actual _thought_ and that pulls Scott up short because that means this _isn’t_ all based on impulse and early morning drowsiness. 

“You tell Jordan everything, T.” 

“Not this. It’s not their business. This is just about _us_ , Scott.” She promises and something about it, even though it makes complete and total sense, rubs Scott the wrong way.

“So I’m just your dirty little secret then?” 

“No! God, just-” she pauses, and in the morning light creeping in past the curtains, he sees her squeeze her eyes shut and shake her head. “You wouldn’t be my _dirty secret_ , Scotty. It’s just that it’d be less _complicated_ if there was no one else butting their heads in, making us define things that don’t _need_ definitions. If we’re comfortable with it, what does the rest of it matter? As long as our skating stays strong, why _shouldn’t_ we?” 

Yes, Tessa is the impulsive one when it comes to matters between the two of them, but Scott is the impulsive one in all other instances and can’t deny her even if he wasn’t.

“We stop the _second_ it stops helping our skating.” He insists, continuing after her “Of course.” “If either of us go on more than two dates with the same person, we stop.”

“Absolutely.”

“We tell no one, even if they ask.”

“Agreed.”

“Okay.” He sighs, still not sold that this is a good idea, but he trusts Tessa and she thinks it’ll work out fine.

“Okay.” She grins, leaning up to kiss him happily, and it sells him a bit more on this whole scheme of theirs. 

“We still need to get up, though.” He insists again, after they part, though he’s less pleased about it than he was before because now he _knows_ he could roll her over and secure this non-relationship they’ve decided on.

“Okay, okay…”  
….  
And if they celebrate getting on Team Canada in Scott’s room again that night, after the celebrations with everyone else, _they_ certainly won’t be confirming it.


End file.
